


Parnters in The Desert

by DatLAG



Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Cowboys & Cowgirls, Far-West AU, Gun Violence, Guns of course you're warned, Inspired by Fanart, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Shooting, and Alcohol too of course, gunfights
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-06-22 09:57:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19665094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DatLAG/pseuds/DatLAG
Summary: Yu arrives in the town of Inaba, when his uncle, the sheriff, tells him of the rumored justiciary Jiraya “The Killer Gust”, who protects the town with his reflexes as fast as the wind, hiding somewhere in this town. The “Lightning-Trigger” can't help but be... Interested.





	1. Welcome to our dry Inaba.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired from this wholesome art https://violet-draws.tumblr.com/post/186074226375/violet-draws-this-is-what-ackerchou-and-i-do from violet-draws and ackerchou like this so wholesome go give the likes it desreves right now do it do it  
> Just so you know I have NEVER watched a cow-boy movie. Or read one. Or played Red-Dead Rendemption. Soooo yeah, sorry if this is a bit weird sometimes.

“Lightning-Trigger”. When Yu asked his way on the road to Inaba, this how the people recognized him, he wasn't aware he made a name for himself. However it was true that he got himself into a lot of duels in his previous town. Being the son of a rich family got them into trouble, so he learned the ways of the west to protect the ones he holds dear. Because of the path he took, his parents decided to send him to his uncle, a tough man with a sense of justice. Apparently.

He never met him, his parents told him he changed his diapers once (he really didn't need that information) but obviously he couldn't remember. His parents insisted that he takes the train, but getting there by horse would make him appreciate the travel more in his opinion.

He was wearing his trusty grey hat, a grey cloak going from his neck to his legs to protect himself from the sun, his black spurred boots, jeans of a dark brown, almost black, and his gun at his black belt, a gift from his parents, it was patterned with pretty fancy golden seam.

He arrived at his destination. The town of Inaba. And it looks like a pretty nice place.

He could see that the town had some fields, so no real problems with food or animals, a train station, there was also a lot of people, and a lot of establishment as he walked through the town, holding the rein of his horse, Velvet, in his hand. He heard the voice of a man call out to him :

“Hey, over here !”

He turned around to perceive a man wearing an old coat and hat, as well as the sheriff badge ! This must be him. He also somewhat looked like his mother... Yu made his way up to him.

“Here I was on patrol and who do I found ? You look better in person than the pictures. I'm Ryotaro Dojima.” He extended his hand, the silver-haired teen took it and responded :

\- “Yu Narukami. Nice to meet you.”

Dojima proposed to took his horse to a stable, and they chatted on the way. Apparently he has a daughter named Nanako still at home, and he talked about the hotspots of the town. The biggest one being the Amagi Inn. This place was where most of the travelers would go visit, as well as being a nice spot to just relax, its bar makes some very good drinks apparently. There was also a lot of people well-known in town working here. It was basically the town's main attraction aside from the Junes Market. They left Velvet in the hands of a cowgirl named Chie, who was working at the place, her dog (who she identified as Muku) started to bark at Yu, she excused herself and his uncle reassured him that Velvet was in good hands.

They both made their way to Dojima's home, and was greeted by a young girl in a cute dress who hid behind Dojima as soon as she saw Yu. He introduced himself and hoped they would get along. His uncle pointed him to a room upstairs, he instantly crumbled on the bed as soon as he entered, tired from his journey. He was eventually called back into the living room for dinner, and his growling stomach wouldn't take no for an answer. After finally eating, Nanako was put to sleep by her father, and him and Yu struck a conversation.

“This might be inappropriate to ask but, is being the sheriff here tough ?

\- You mean criminals ? Well, we have a few here and there of course, but as long as Jiraya's around it's pretty easy.

\- Who ?

\- Oh I didn't tell you ? Around a year and half ago there was a pretty big robbery, a young girl died tragically, but a young man got the thieves and delivered them to the station. We don't know who it was though, he wears his hat low, a black mask on his eyes and a scarf, but after this, he kept stopping crime around town. I considered arresting him until he got engaged in a duel with a briguand, I was watching and the kid's got talent, I didn't even see him pull his gun out, seriously scary. And it seemed I wasn't the only one, he was starting to get known around town as Jiraya “The Killer Gust”, which is pretty accurate if you ask me, I really don't want to be on the other hand of his trigger.”

Yu took a second to register the info, a justiciary ? He would be lying if he said it didn't pique his interest. He took his hand to his chin in thought.

\- “So he's someone in town ?

\- For sure, but I didn't try to found out who. He's protecting people out of his own volition, and I'd be lying if I said life here wasn't easier since he's around. And it looks like he's not going to get killed yet. Especially with those crazy reflexes.

\- But do you have suspicions ?

\- I do. I have someone in mind, but like I said. I won't act on it. The kid's trying to do good, and as far as I know, he delivered the criminals to me and only killed when necessary. Although must be tough to be shooting at other people this young.”

Yu could understand the feeling; The first time he won a duel, he didn't sleep the next night. Feeling the weight of taking someones life hits like a train.

But for the better or worse... You get used to it. For as horrible as it sounds.

They spend the rest of the conversation talking about Yu's own deeds and duels. He went to sleep afterwards, thinking of his nickname : “Lighting-Trigger”. And of the mysterious Jiraya. He admits he would like to see the man in action, must be really impressive if his skills could scare the sheriff. On those thoughts, he slowly drifted into profound slumber.

* * *

The next day, he felt like visiting the bar at the Amagi Inn, it was a hot spot and he should get to know the place. It wasn't hard to find it, as soon as he entered he understood why it was a good spot. They were lots of people, it was clean, and there was a girl playing the harp, giving a nice feel to the place. After a quick look around, he decided to sit the bar for a bit. He took a few minutes to collect his thoughts about the town and appreciate the nice music. His uncle mentioned there was a textile shop, he considered going there next to get his cloak fixed, he noticed a few holes on the way.

“Yo ! So what's your order ?”

He snapped out of his thoughts to notice the bartender talking to him. It was a teen around the same age as him in uniform and caramel hair.

\- “Let's see, skotch.

\- Ok, comin' right up.”

He turned around to prepare the drink, Yu noticed more his hair, he has never seen someone with this color, it looked like the ground heated up in the sun, a color he all too familiar with. Although he could say the same about his own hair, it's also of a pretty unusual color.

“Here you go.” The bartender slid the drink across the table in one fluid motion, he managed to caught it perfectly. “Oooh nice catch.

\- Thanks.” He said while starting to take a sip, his uncle was right, it's really good. He slid his hand in his pocket to take out some money.

\- “No need for that, the first one is always on the house.” Yu looked at him and nodded, with scotch this good, they don't need to worry about making money, it was nice to be at a bar that wasn't extra stingy. After another sip, he noticed the brunette staring at him, he looked deep in thought.

\- “What is it ?

\- Oh, sorry. I never saw you before but I swear, you look like someone I know...” It wasn't hard to see what he was talking about.

\- “Oh, the sheriff's my uncle.

\- Ooooh ! I knew you looked like him ! You give off somewhat the same vibe.

\- Is that a compliment ?

\- Well the guy terrifies me, and I'm not shaking in my boots right now sooo...

\- So we don't really give off the same vibe.

\- You get what I meant ! Wait a sec...” He stared at Yu again with his arms crossed. “Aren't you the “Lightning-Trigger” guy I heard about !?

\- I guess ?

\- So the rumors about him coming  _ were _ true ! Chie owns me money now.

\- Actually, why do people always call me that ?

\- Well, the rumors says about a young man with silver hair and silver eyes with a black belt of golden seam. Hum,” He got closer and said in a lower voice : “is it true you won a duel during a thunderstorm ?

\- It's not really good memories but it's true.” This was probably were the nickname comes from.

\- “Duuude, winning a duel during a thunderstorm !? How cool is that ?! Looks like the scenery of an epic adventure book ! That's so badass !” The Lightning-Trigger scratched the side of his face with his right index, somewhat flattered and embarrassed.

\- “Looking back on it, it would look pretty epic for other people.

\- Oh, now that I think about it, are you gonna be here for the tournament ?

\- Tournament ?

\- Yeah, a shooting tournament ! It's held every year here, the winner gets five free nights and meals at the inn. It's an accuracy test, it's in two months.” He was confident in his accuracy, it could distract him, and why not ?

\- “Sure, sound fun.

\- Oh man ! The Lighting-Trigger and Killer Gust ! This year is gonna be epic !” The mention of that nickname instantly caught Yu's attention.

\- “Killer Gust huh ? He participates ?

\- Huh... Well... Last year, he participated, in disguise though, so i've just assumed he was going to be there again...

\- So the justiciary joins in on the fun too ?

\- Well why not ? Even he has to have some fun, aside from stopping criminals.

\- Sounds like you know a lot about him.” The bartender looked surprised and looked away.

\- “Well, you could say I'm a fan...

\- The secret's safe with me.

\- Thanks hum... Sorry, didn't catch your name.

\- Yu Narukami.

\- Ooooh “Silent Thundergod” heh ? Explains the nickname. I'm Yosuke Hanamura, just call me Yosuke though.

\- “To Introduce Sunshine” heh ? Explains the hair and eye color.

\- Yeah I guess !”

Yosuke came back to his work, and Yu came back to his scotch. He was getting a good feeling from this town. He looked at the brunette one more time, he was getting a vibe from him, he couldn't place his finger on it, but it was pleasant. This town was going to be great.

And he was definitely looking forward to the tournament.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yu scratching the side of his head like that comes from PQ and PQ2, he does it like that. Also bigbigbig thank you to violet-draws and ackerchou for letting me do this and for their wholesome piece of art ! They wear the same oufits as in there, exept Yosuke was in his bartender unfiorm of course, that's his Jiraya outfit. Just had a little cloth mask oh the eyes for indentity's sake !  
> Oh ! I'm reminded of a joke I've seen in a sketch video of 2 dudes watching a cow-boy movie, one going about how “manly” those movies are with the guns, then his friend says “hum, they're pulling out the wrong guns right now” and the music turns into sexyphone and the guys just scooch away from each other in one awkward motion.  
> You have no clue how much I was reminded of Yu and Yosuke at that moment.


	2. Savior of the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yu socializing with the town, and making some discoveries about his feelings and getting the honor of seeing Jiraya in action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 in a row boys ! I'm on a roll ! Man I'm getting tired tho

The few weeks afterwards was quite peaceful.

Yu had like planned visited the Tatsumi Textile shop, he was surprised to see such a muscular young man being able to repair his cloak so effectively ,even more surprised to hear that he was younger than him. He was defensive about this subject, but the silver-haired teen reassured him that he was free to do whatever he wished and that he did a great job, the blond teen introduced himself has Kanji. He also met Dojima's coworkers. One was a policeman named Adachi who was apparently pretty slow at his job, and a young man-  _ women _ by the name of Naoto Shirogane, who seemed to be absorbed in a case.

She said that there was something fishy about all of the incidents, like someone bigger was at play and pulling the strings. She only said it was a theory and that she'll keep working on it.

Dojima also informed him in private at the station that they were important case papers at his home. He previously left them at the station, but it was robbed a few months ago. They caught the guy, but he couldn't let them here anymore. He said he hid them under a wooden plank at home, and to be carefull about them. He wished he didn't have to hid them so close to Nanako, but he didn't have a choice anymore for as much as he hated it, and if someone tried to stole them, he asked Yu to protect Nanako at all cost and to protect those papers, but not getting himself killed in the process.

One time when he was visiting Velvet, he saw Chie discussing with a girl who is actually the Amagi's daughter, Yukiko. She said that she enjoyed places like this even though people assumes she would probably spend time inside doing “refined things”, just being outside taking care of the horses was nice. Has the son of a rich family he agreed, and Chie showed him some tricks about how to take care of horses.

To be honest, the animals he spend time with was the cats of the town. He already met one black, two tabbies and one white with black spots.

But he would spend most of his time in the inn talking with Yosuke. The guy knew every info in town and had tons of things to talk about. He told him the story of a fight in the bar, that ended with Yukiko pulling out a shotgun from a room upstairs, Yu couldn't help but chuckle just thinking about it. There was a vibe from the brunette that just made the Lightning-Trigger want to spend more time with him, sometimes he couldn't help but stare at the guy for no reason whatsoever. When Yosuke would start taking care of the other customer, the harpist would talk to him on her breaks. He was pretty she was hitting on him, which he would just let slide, in between taking orders Yosuke said :

“Rise this is getting really awkward for me.

\- Why ? I'm not talking to you.

\- Ouch and hearing all of those pick up lines would make anyone uncomfortable.

\- That's because no one ever hits on you !

\- Hey !! I have plenty of people hitting on me !

\- The old ladies at the Junes Market you mean !

\- Dammit you're right...” Yosuke turned around to go back to making drinks. Rise turned to Yu and came back to their conversation.

\- “Has Yosuke told you the story of when Yukiko pulled out a shotgun ?

\- Yeah, I can't decide if it's funny or terrifying.

\- I know right ! Oh ! Have you heard about that time he through a knife across the room ?

\- No ?

\- Let me tell you it was crazy ! There was a drunk one time, and he came up on stage while I was playing, he surprised me so I didn't have time to defend myself, but Yosuke through a knife and it stuck itself on the wall right next to the guy, and everyone just froze, me included ! The drunk let go off me and started walking to him, he tripped the guy and chucked him out the door ! No need to tell you no one to this day has ever tried messing if him afterwards !”

Yu pictured the scene, really impressive, to be able to throw something this precisely... He looked to the stage to somewhat evaluate the distance, and throwing someone out like this, he has such a thin, and  _ clean _ figure too....

“I think this is the only moment when I thought that he was cool.

\- Rise I'm  **right there** . And I'm cool ! Right ? Back me up Narukami !

\- I think you're cool. Definitely a better bartender that the one I've met so far.” He looked at the brunette who turned away avoiding his gaze.

\- “Wow- oh come on you're exaggerating...”

It hit him at this instant, the nature of the vibe : He found him attractive, And it took him this long to figure that out. Oh well, he wasn't complaining in the slightest, he patted himself on the back for his good taste.

\- “I'm not. You're cool.

\- Ok let's stop there I gotta work...” Yosuke basically fled to the other side of the bar, in an attempt to escape the conversation while flushing from ear to ear.  _ Cute. _ He was going to have  _ a lot _ of fun here.

  
  
  
  


After getting home, he saw Nanako trying to cook by herself, he insisted on helping out, and the both of them made dinner and talked while Dojima was at work. She asked shyly :

“Hum... Can I... Hum...

\- You can tell me.

\- Oh, really ? Well, can I see your belt ?” He looked at it in surprise.

\- “Why ?

\- It's shiny ! It's so pretty ! It looks like the sewings my teacher does at school !” She flashed a smile no man could resist. Yu took it off and carefully pulled out his 45 Colt out of its case and casted it aside before showing the belt to Nanako. “Oh wow ! C-can I touch it ?

\- Yes you can, but be carefull, it's a gift.” She touched it in pure wonder and traced the golden seam on it with her eyes like a child looking at the stars.

\- “Oh, it's coming off here.” She pointed to a part of the belt where the seam was indeed coming off.

\- “You're right...

\- “Hum... Can I fix it ?

\- You can do that ?

\- Uh-uh. We learn how to do it at school. And dad often damages his, so I fix it for him.

\- That's very nice of you. You can fix it if you want.” Her face lit up.

\- “Really ? Yay ! I'll take good care of it !”

After dinner, she brought the belt to her room to fix it. Yu picked up his gun and took it to his room before going to sleep.

  
  
  
  
  


He was woken up by a noise in the middle of the night. Something cracking. Hard. He instantly got up on his feet, having a bad feeling about this.

He picked up his gun and peeked out his bedroom door. There was someone, it was dark so he couldn't see who it was, but he noticed that the man had a rifle, and didn't look like Dojima, he could tell that even in the dark. He thought about what Dojima told him, the papers under the wooden plank. It could be what they were after. Yu grabbed his knife and watched the man walking through the house, he noticed he was indeed holding papers and he was walking towards the door. When he left, Yu hurried to check on Nanako, praying she was okay, he peeked through her door noticing her still asleep. He sighed in relief, but more importantly, he needed to catch the guy. If those papers were so important Dojima would go so far as to hide them in the last place he wanted, those should really matter and meant a lot. He grabbed his coat and slowly opened the door.

He arrived in the streets, eyes darting left and right he hide himself trying to search for the man. He noticed him on the end of the street. How was he going to take care of this ? He slowly made his way up to him, still hiding and making as few noises as possible. He was pretty close, he evened his breath and as he was about to get closer, he heard meowing next to him.

It was one of tabbies he would come across ! Not now ! He couldn't check if the man looked in his direction and prayed for him to not notice him.

A gunshot brushed his arm, and he hid has best as he could behind a wooden pillar.  _ Dammit _ , he didn't want to engage in a gunfight ! He waited for the man to pause his shots to fire back, he managed to hit his left arm, but the thief started firing back, the shot grazed Yu's right arm who winced at the pain, once properly hid again, he noticed it started bleeding, he held the wound with his other hand. H wasn't going to be able to shoot properly, and his left was less clean than his right, but he didn't have a choice.

He switched his gun in his left hand, and waited for the occasion to shoot again. Once arrived he turned and pressed the trigger, but nothing came out. Surprised, the thief shot at him, he barely managed to avoid it, but it grazed his ankle badly, it started bleeding as well. He hid again and checked the inside of his gun, it was empty. He instinctively reached for his bel-  _ crap the belt ! _

He forgot to pick up his belt on the way out, with his munitions in it ! He cursed himself hard. He was in deep trouble. He couldn't get close anymore to use his knife, especially with his ankle like this.  _ What to do !? _ He tried assessing the situation the best he could, maybe he could run ? But his uncle trusted him with those papers, but he said not to get himself killed as well.

His thought process was interrupted by the noise of someone getting hit. He glanced at the thief to notice he was held on the ground by someone, the papers were on the floor. Yu tried making his way to them but he stumbled. The person holding the thief talked in a familiar voice.

“You okay ?”

It was definitely the voice of a young man. Wait a minute;

\- “Are you... Jiraya ?” Said Yu while holding his arm. As he got closer and he recognized the description his uncle gave. He wore a hat, although he couldn't really make out the colors in the dark, a scarf around his neck, and a cloth mask to cover his eyes. He wore a sleeveless jacket with what looked like a white dress shirt underneath, jeans of a dark color, a white belt with a 45 Colt and leather spurred boots, he also had a rifle on his back.

\- “Hum yeah, but there's no time for that ! Give me a sec.” Jiraya, pulled out a roppe from his belt, and tied the man's hands behind his back, before pulling out the rifle and hitting the man on the head with the handle, knocking him out. It was done so cleanly it was scary. “That'll make him sleep for a while. You okay Narukami ?

\- Well- wait how do you know my name ?

\- Ah- Well, how do  _ you _ know  _ my _ name ?

\- … Fair enough.” So he's met Jiraya's normal identity. Which is not an helpful clue since he basically met and is known by all of town by now. And the fact that Jiraya's voice is familiar doesn't help in the same way. Jiraya put the unconscious man on his shoulder and made a noise a the weight, meanwhile Yu picked up the papers on the ground.

\- “Let's get this guy to the station. Also we should close those.” He got closer to Yu. “Yikes gotta stink.” He pulled out a gourd from his belt. “Come here I'll wash those, you really don't want those to get infected believe me.” Yu somewhat trying to process everything that's happened obeyed.

Jiraya held his arm in his gloved hands, the grip seemed to have gotten he lot nicer compared to how he held the thief. He poured the gourd on the wound making the Lighting-Trigger hiss from the sensation. He then pulled out bandages and started applying them on the wound. He was amazed at Jiraya's preparations. Sure, he was fighting crimes often apparently, but all of those looked way more incredible when seen directly. He studied him closely, he couldn't really make out his face, the dark and the mask wasn't helping. But he noticed he was a thin man with a thin chin.

“Oh shoot, you got one there too I didn't notice ! You should sit.

\- I'm good I can stand up.

-Yeah, but you should treat that too. Stop playing the tough guy and sit.” The guy was oddly authoritarian, Yu sat and let him treat his ankle. It's amazing how he could hold someone to the ground and be so gentle when applying bandages, he found himself staring at his savior. “Good to go ?”

\- “Huh ? Hum yeah.” The both of them got up and walked in the direction of the station.

They walked in silence and the taller one couldn't help but continue to stare for a priori no reason. He was getting this vibe, similar from the way he was sensing from Yosuke. He stopped staring in a hurry when he realised the implications this could mean, he felt his cheeks heating up.

“I wanted to say, thanks for saving me back there. I was in a really bad spot. So thank you.

\- Don't thank me, it's what I do ! Although you were lucky I heard the gunshots though.

\- I guess I was. Hum, do this often ?

\- As often as crimes happens. Also, what was up this time ?

\- Well, this man broke into the house to stole those papers. They're extremely important so I pursued him.

\- Oh so a thief- oh shit- is Nanako okay !?

\- Still asleep safe and sound- wait how do you know I'm- nevermind everybody knows.

\- Oh good...” He said in a sigh of relief. “Also, dude, where's your belt ? No way the Lightning-Trigger is going around without his belt.

\- Well... I... sort of forgot it at home.

\- Oh wow... I'm not judgin', happened to us all. Looks even you mess up sometimes.

\- Don't tell me you forget it sometime to-

\-  **AHEM.** Just don't forget it next time, I won't be always there to save your ass you know !”

He winked and laughed, which took Yu aback. He was definitely feeling “the vibes”. Not good.

They arrived at the station, and Jiraya dropped the thief on the front with a grunt.

“God this guy was heavy, my back killin' me... Well, I'll let you take care of the sucker, I don't wanna deal with the sheriff, just say I got him, well, goodnight Mr Lightning-Trigger !”

\- Wait !” By the time he turned around he was already gone in a breeze. He heard a voice from inside.

\- “What's happening ?”

The following night was Yu explaining the situation at the station. His uncle was worried sick and cursed himself with Adachi trying to calm him down. He said he'll move the papers, thanked Yu for protecting the house and that he owns another one to the Jiraya kid, among other formal stuff. But during the whole night Yu couldn't get the encounter with Jiraya out of his mind. He couldn't but think the guy was... attractive. Really charming.  _ Damn. _ he thought.  _ What am I ? A princess owning my savior a relationship ? _ Although he couldn't help but replay the encounter in his head like a broken instrument. He thought about Yosuke too, and that he'll have to choose between teasing the Inn's bartender and hitting on the town's local savior... But :

he would be lying if they weren't  _ a lot _ similar. And that maybe...

  
Looks like he has something to verify. And if it  _ is _ true, then all his problems will be resolved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You don't need to chose in between them if they're the same guy (insert meme here) and Yu discovers himself as a dorkybrunettesexual  
> Jiraya is used to the saving people stuff. That's why he carries all that stuff around, and he's really not good at the secret identity stuff. Also Yu's gun's name is Zio, his knife's Rajinzan, and Jiraya's rifle's Garudyne.  
> Yeah people in this town are not the sailor moon kind of people that are not able to recognize someone just because they wear a diadem.


	3. There are 2 types of people

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's tournament time ! And time for Yu's plan to shine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy fuck it's like real late and I'm tired and stuff but I felt like writing about gay cowboys (logic), and ooooh I'm gonna have fun with this one. Sorry if it's shorter than usual.

The Lightning-Trigger thought about that night for the nth time.

This night was long. For everyone.

Dojima probably had to find another place to hide those, Naoto apparently had a new streak of clues with the incident, and Yu spent the whole time spent in his bed replaying the same 10 minutes on encore. And now that he thinks about it, it was probably also a long night for Jiraya.

But enough about the past, today was _ very  _ important.

He had a theory, a pretty solid one, but it serves nothing without proof, as Naoto would say.

Today was the tournament, he knows for sure that Jiraya would be present. His plan was bulletproof ( _ oh a pun _ ) but he missed  _ one _ thing. That thing being-

“Isn't your tournament about to start ?”

His thoughts was interrupted by Nanako reminding him of the event.

\- You're right. Thank you for reminding me.”

He looked at his belt, she did a very good job at sewing it back together, she seemed to have enjoyed doing it. He didn't told her about that night, fearing that she will feel guilty over it.

He said goodbye to her before leaving the house and going to the Amagi Inn.

The main hall was completely changed, people were watching on the second floor, the stage served at some kind of shooting start, and the targets were in the other side of the bar at the complete opposite, that was a pretty impressive distance. After entering, he heard someone from the upper floor saying :

“And here is the exceptional and thunderous, the one and only Lightning-Trigger, Yu Narukami !”

A round of applause was heard in the entire room, he glanced to were the voice came from, it came from the upper floor, it belonged to a pretty young teen with blond hair and blue eyes. Yosuke mentioned him, it was his adoptive brother, “Teddie” as he calls him, if he remembers correctly.

He guessed he had to make his way to the scene, there was a lot of people participating, more notably, Rise & Chie were there !

“Hey ! Hi Narukami ! I knew you would be participating !” Said Chie.

\- I'm surprised to see you here. Especially you Rise.

\- I know my way with guns you know ! I'm better than you think !

\- Then let's see those skills.

\- Say Rise, I thought Naoto was going to participate !

\- I asked her, but she said she was too busy with the case.

\- Aw that's too bad. She gave Jiraya a serious run for his money last year !

\- Really ?

\- Yeah ! They had to do 3 rounds to determine the winner, it was epic !”

Suddenly from above them, Teddie, who had Yukiko next to him actually, yelled :

“Ladies and Gentlebears, the one we've all been waiting for,” He pointed to a window : “The Killer-Gust, Jiraya !”

Yu followed his finger. And here was Jiraya standing dramatically on the edge of an open window, clearly trying to show off. The silver-haired teen held back a chuckle. It was hard to take him seriously when he saw the goofball he really was that certain night. Jiraya jumped off the window and onto the scene next to Yu. Chie said :

“Eh. Show-off.

\- We'll see about that Miss Satonaka ! I didn't forget your blunder of last year !

\- Humph ! Yeah right, I'll kick your ass !” Yu leaned into Rise's ear to be discreet.

\- Is there a rivalry going on ?

\- Yeah, you can say that.”

Teddie raised his voice again.

“Now that all the participants are in, let's the show ! I am your  _ lovely _ host, Teddie ! And welcome to the 6 th Inaba Shotournament !”

The crowd did a round of applause. Yu wondered how a teen younger than him was the host.

“For all of our newcomers, I will explain the rules ! You just gotta shoot at the target turn by turn, and the more accurates one move on to the next round ! The less accurate gets eliminated ! The winner will gain the title of our town's “Sensei” and get the amazing price of 5 free nights and meals at the Amagi Inn ! And a special prize Teddie fashion !” Chie added :

\- “Oh man not that crap again...

\- Now let us begin ! Stand in line please !”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The first rounds were fairly easy, most of the participants were eliminated.

Including Chie, Jiraya laughed all the way.

“ _ AH ! _ Seems like you haven't made that much progress !

\- Shut up ! It doesn't matter as long as it's strong and you hit !

\- I expected no less from a rude shotgun user.

\- Wanna get slapped !?” Rise placed herself between them.

\- Now, now let's not fight !”

Jiraya kept on laughing and grinning. He had such a clear laugh, his smile was also just as nice. Yu bit his lip.  _ Not the time for that. I have some work to do. _

  
  
  
  
  
  


It was time for the final round, and, at nobody's surprise, it was The Lightning-Trigger VS The Killer Gust. The crowd was pretty excited to say the least.

“Pretty Ladies and Gentlebears, this is the match of the century ! Two grizzly meeting at the top ! Who will achieve victory !? But before that, it's time for the Teddie prize reveal ! Whoever wins will have the opportunity... To get a smooch from anyone he wants !”

The crowd laughed, and Yukiko next to him seemed to be having an epic laughing fit. Chie yelled some more, Rise laughed along with the crowd, and he heard someone yelling loudly “WHA-” from the back. It sounded a bit like Kanji from the textile shop...

But Yu realized :  _ This is it ! This just what I needed ! I just need to win now. _ Jiraya addressed The taller one :

“Well, just you and me. Do your best Mister Forgets-His-Belt !” he flashed a massive grin, which genuinely looked really good on him. Yu felt his stomach do a flip.

\- “Believe me, I'll try with everything I got.”

\- “At my signal, both of you fire at the target at the same time ! Now everyone on mark... ready... shoot !”

* * *

Jiraya had awful luck. Sneezing in the middle of pulling the trigger, awful luck really.

The crowd laughed at his failure and he begged for another round, although Teddie didn't let that slide and Chie laughed at his face.

Not like Yu could condemn her, he was chuckling himself.

But more importantly, his plan. He took out some gunpowder and rubbed his finger  _ hard _ on it, to be sure there was  _ a lot _ that would stick.

“After this beary disappointing display from our local hero-” Jiraya loudly exclaimed “HEY” “Our winner is The Lighting-Trigger, Yu Narukami ! Congratulations ! We have a new Sensei in town !”

The crowd applauded him, he scratched his head, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the noise and praise.

“Now for our special prize ! Who is Sensei going to chose !?”

The crowd cheered in excitement, and Yu blessed his immunity to shame for what he was about to do next.

He took his hat off, took a deep breathe, and checked there was still powder on his finger. Then he slightly taped Jiraya's shoulder, who was in the middle of looking at the ground in a probably salty mood (which he didn't blame him after that pretty anti-climatic outcome), the justiciary turned around to face him, Yu then used the hand with his dirty finger to cup Jiraya's face,

and went in for a kiss. Or a smooch as Teddie would put it, while using the hat he had previously taken off to hide it, and rubbing his powdered finger behind Jiraya's ear, in a hard to see spot.

The crowd went  _ mad _ . There was a lot of screaming and cheering, he could hear someone loudly fall on the ground in the back, Teddie yelling a massive gasp and Yukiko laughing her lungs off.

But he sincerely didn't care. Because _ wow. _ He had soft lips that tasted like alcohol, a very good one though, but the fact he was tasting it of the mouth of a very handsome young man who Yu is pretty obviously  **_very_ ** attracted to, made it all the better. He didn't reciprocate, which is understandable considering the sudden nature of the situation, but it was  _ amazing _ while it lasted.

He pulled away and put his hat back on, examining Jiraya's face, who had his mouth open, was flushed and was trying to make a sentence, but it sounded more like random syllables.  _ Cute _ . Yu grinned :

“That was a pleasant match. And you have very nice lips by the way.” He made sure to say the last part of the sentence in a flirty way.

The Killer-Gust flushed even harder,  _ god he was cute, _ and Yu walked out  _ very satisfied _ accompanied by the people applause and cheers.

Once he made sure he was out of sight, he runned home, ignoring Nanako's questioning look as he rushed past her, slammed himself onto his bed, grabbed his pillow, buried his face in it, and screamed.

He was maybe immune to shame, but he was not immune to personal embarrassment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gg Yu. You get to steal a kiss from your crush and set up a discovery plan. (also yeah I took the idea from the fanart again. It's really cute.)  
> Also Teddie is a wholesome host. Also about the title, it's reference to a western movie where someone enters by the door and gets killed, and one enters by the window and wins, and he said, "there are 2 types of people, those who enters by the door, and those who enters by the window". The irony here is tthat it's actually the one entering by the window who gets f*cked at the end : )


	4. Let's have a talk.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yu discovers the results of his plan, and a proposal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Motivation ? w ha t' s t ha t  
> Anyways this chapter is going to be trouble for me I just know it

After a night of internal screaming, Yu braced himself for his next visit to the bar. If his assumptions were correct, he would find a certain bartender with a heavy trace of gunpowder behind his left ear.

After some walking that seemed longer than he thought, he arrived at the inn. Sure enough, here was Yosuke in his slick bartender outfit. He was on the other side of the bar taking care of another client, but he wasn't in the right angle to see the mark. The brunette kept on talking to the client and Yu's eyes traced themselves to his lips, and hoped that it was the same he kissed yesterday. He thought back about their texture and taste, carved in his mind, he touched his own lips by instinct. He would really appreciate to kiss those again. He kept staring at Yosuke while now licking his lips, either in excitement or enthusiasm, or to somewhat try to retaste the sensation.

He heard the loud sound of a glass hitting a table behind him, bringing him back to reality where he was looking at someone like they were a meal ready to be savored. He snapped out of his daydream, and kept looking discreetly at the brunette, resisting the urge to get pulled back in fantasy land.

Until Yosuke turned his back to him to pick a glass or something, and the silver-haired teen traced his eyes to look behind his left ear.

He had to put his hand in front of his mouth to hide the smug grin of pure satisfaction that was forming on his face.

* * *

Yu had to seriously try his patience to wait until the end of the day, the urge to confront him about the matter was stupidly strong. The teen knew himself to be a pretty calm person at least, but he could feel the pressure of shoving down his feelings rampaging inside his stomach. He distracted himself by keeping Nanako company, she showed him around town, met more people, played together, it was a pretty amazing day. He felt somewhat bad for her, having to take care of the house alone without a mother, but also a form of respect, being able to do all of those things.

When they were at home preparing lunch, Yu helped her out even though she insisted on doing it herself.

"Nanako, if you need help with anything you can come to me, ok ?

\- Are you sure ? I don't want to bother you...

\- It doesn't bother me at all. I'm happy to help you, we're family.

\- Family... Yeah ! You're family ! You're like a Big Bro !"

That exchange warmed his heart and always made him smile when he thought back on it.

* * *

Late in the evening, when there was no one else in the hall of the inn, Yu entered and made his way straight to Yosuke.

"Oh- Hi Narukami, w-what's up ?" He was nervous, and refused to meet Yu's gaze. Understandable, and also cute.

\- "Yosuke, we need to talk."

Next thing they both knew, Yu was cornering Yosuke in a dark spot of the hall, only lit by the weak orange candlelight of the room. The silver-haired one had one hand slammed to the wall next to Yosuke's head, to be sure he can't flee the conversation.

And now that he thought about it, it must have looked really flirty.

The brunette's eyes were darting all over the place and Yu's gaze was fixed on him.

"Tell me Yosuke." His gaze snapped to meet Yu's, he was blushing hard.

\- "Y-yes..?

\- Are you Jiraya ?" His eyes widened and started evading again.

\- "Wh-what are you... No way...ahah...

\- I'm not an idiot. You have the mark of gunpowder I left behind your left ear." Yosuke reached to the said left ear by reflex, before stopping immediately, knowing the motion gave him away. "Or would you rather have me kiss you to see if you taste the same ?" Now the brunette covered his mouth and his blush darkened. Just the reaction he wanted to see.

\- "F-fine... You win you jerk..." Yu wore a grin. Smiling at his victory. "Bu-but, don't tell anyone okay...? It's a secret you hear me !?

\- I won't tell a soul. Actually, I have a proposal. Let's work together.

\- Wha-what !?

\- I'll help you in your hero work.

\- Huh !? Why !?

\- Because I want to help you, I admire the work you do for this city." And I really want to stay with you.

\- B-but... What about you ? I mean- I have a secret identity and all but- you know !

\- I can have one too, I thought about it.

\- But everyone knows you ! They'll recognize you instantly !

\- Don't you think everyone in town already knows who you are ? I'm new here and I already found out." Yosuke stayed silent. "Look, I want to help you. If you don't want my help then fine. I won't force you. I'm offering because I want to and I thought you could use some help." The brunette looked deep in thought, Yu pulled back. "If you need time that's fine, I'm-

\- Wait ! Hum- let's try it out !

\- What do you mean ?

\- We'll, well, try to team up a bit, and we'll see if it works out ! Wh-what do you think ?" He looked like he was trying to desperately dig himself out of a hole. It made Yu smile.

\- Alright." Yosuke sighed deeply.

\- O-OK... That was super stressful... Dude, I dunno how you do that but I felt like I could explode or something ! Damn !" Yosuke stretched himself and took a deep breath.

Somewhat glad the ordeal was over (and that he could now see Yosuke more often), he was still curious about some things.

\- "Say Yosuke.

\- What...?

\- Why did you become Jiraya ?"

A huge silence installed itself.

\- "Wh-why do you ask ?

\- Well, I was curious... And I thought I should know if we're going to team-up."

Yosuke looked away. His demeanor completely changed.

\- "Well... It's kinda cliché...

\- Do tell. I'm all ears.

\- W-well, there was this girl who worked at the Junes market, and, I kinda liked her... But..." Yu remembered what his uncle told him his first day.

\- "She was killed ?" Yosuke nodded sadly.

\- "So... I wanted to make sure that won't happen to anyone again. And, here I am." Yu was left speechless, thinking about what he could say in the army of sentences forming in his head.

\- "That's... terrible. And it's very admirable of you to want to protect people." Yosuke blushed and swayed from one leg to the other.

\- "Hu- come on... Anyone would do the same...

\- No, I'm sure many people lost someone, but has never gone to the extent you do. It's very brave." The brunette looked down and laughed awkwardly.

\- "I-if you say so... W-well, I need to go home... I gotta take care of Teddie y-ya know ?" He kept on laughing awkwardly as he picked up his things. When he was about to leave, he said finally : "I-I'll see you tomorrow, we'll organize from there okay ?

\- Sure." Yosuke waved goodbye with a shy smile.

\- S-see ya !" Yu waved back, and the brunette left.

Left alone in his thoughts, he made his own way back to his house. Once there, he found Nanako, somehow still awake, knitting something.

"Big Bro, why are you smiling ?

\- Huh ?

\- You're smiling ! Did something good happened ?" The image of an embarrassed Yosuke came to his mind.

\- Yeah. You can say that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's short and it probably doesn't live up to the usual quality... But the partner team was formed !  
> I hope you enjoyed !


End file.
